


Snakes and Sanguine

by GintaxAlvissforever



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Betrayal, Bodyguard Romance, Canon Compliant, Conspiracy, Dark Fantasy, Drama, Implied Relationships, Internalized Homophobia, Kidnapping, M/M, Original Character(s), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pre-Time Skip, Sexual Slavery, Suspense
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-13
Updated: 2020-01-13
Packaged: 2021-02-27 10:28:20
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,271
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22015645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GintaxAlvissforever/pseuds/GintaxAlvissforever
Summary: Sylvain has it easy. He is one of the strongest knights in the Kingdom of Faerghus. The current heir of the Gautier family has earned a position as the right hand for the future king Dimitri. He is only equal to the current heir of the Galatea family and left hand of the future king, Ingrid. Together, the two are considered unstoppable. That's why they are given an escort mission. They are to protect the Kingdom's Messiah (a person who is born with a major crest) as he embarks on his short pilgrimage to Garreg Mach Monastery. Sylvain doesn't take the mission seriously because the Kingdom's Messiah is his childhood friend Felix who can handle himself.Everything goes wrong on the journey coming back after the successful ritual in Garreg Mach. All because Sylvain failed his job as a knight...
Relationships: Felix Hugo Fraldarius/Sylvain Jose Gautier, Ingrid Brandl Galatea & Sylvain Jose Gautier
Comments: 5
Kudos: 25





	Snakes and Sanguine

**Author's Note:**

> I have too many ongoing stories but I really really need to get an idea off my chest. Don't be surprised if the plot intrigues you and then you won't get an update for months on end.
> 
> This is a dark fantasy AU that only keeps some of the 3 Houses story elements. Byleth and Beth are still in the story as twins but have different roles now. This is pre-timeskip for story reasons. The only major difference is Claude is not in charge of the Alliance and he's back in Almyra while Lorenz is in charge.
> 
> Also because this is me, there is always fanservice and the kink tags get added as it happens.

There are a few unspoken rules within the Kingdom of Faerghus. Should someone break the rules, they only have themselves to blame.

The first rule is that you should always expect anyone within the kingdom to be able to fight and defend themselves. Most children learn to use a sword at the age of five before they learn how to read or write. The way of the warrior is heavily practiced in the kingdom.

The second rule is that attacking anyone with a noble title will result in your death either by the nobles themselves or by the current ruler. Most of the nobles were allies with each other and they too knew how to fight. Attacking anyone within the circle is nothing short of suicide. Attacking the current heirs of said circle was even worse because they weren't as forgiving as one would think they were.

The third rule is the most important rule. The new generation of knights were stronger than ever before. Blessed with the crests from the Goddess, they had skills that could decimate entire armies. It would be near impossible to take them down without any sort of preparation. The Prince of Faerghus and his friends were amongst the nobles as some of the strongest fighters in the entire Kingdom...if not all of Fodlan.

And yet, despite all of these unspoken rules, there are those who are willing to challenge these powerful nobles. There are many reasons for this though. People pay high prices for either the head's of these nobles or for their bodies entirely. Defeating these special nobles in battle would solidify your name in history so as long as you do not kill them. Or they can be an uninformed soul who assumed their target was a regular person and attack them.

Which reason though is still a mystery.

"Is that all you got?"

The clearing was filled with the corpses of dead bandits foolish enough to attack a group of nobles separated from the rest of their group. There were only three nobles; two males and one female. They looked to be easy picking seeing as how they were extremely young and appeared to be inexperienced fighters. Their youth was not to be underestimated.

"Weaklings. All of them."

Another bandit fell after being impaled by a sword. He muttered incoherent gibberish as his life left him. The swordsman prepared to return the sword to its sheathe.

"Is that all of them?" The swordsman asked.

The sound of another bandit's scream was his answer.

"Now it is."

The swordsman only scowled in disappointment. When he was warned about the dangers that would happen on this pilgrimage, he expected an actual challenge. Instead, he and his friends were stuck fighting the same inexperienced fighters at home.

"Are either of you injured?" The female fighter asked.

"Nope~."

"Of course not. You worry too much."

She groaned finally lowering her weapon. "Sylvain, you need to stop getting distracted. I shouldn't have to break formation because you decided to follow someone that resembled a pretty girl."

The one named Sylvain chuckled at his friend's discourse. "What can I say? If I see a pretty lady, I can't help but greet her. Even if she was a forest nymph, I would praise her endless beauty."

"You're hopeless!"

"I would have been fine Ingrid. I had it under control even when the bandits showed up. You didn't need to drag Felix with you."

Sylvain felt a sinister aura glaring daggers at his back. If Ingrid was yelling at him from the front, he could only imagine that Felix was far from impressed.

"You were surrounded!" Ingrid yells. "If these bandits had any idea how to fight, you'd be impaled against the tree right now!"

"With how this idiot acts, I would have preferred that," Felix snarked.

Sylvain flinched at the harsh words. He was used to it and knew his friends were just worried about him. They often threw insults at him to hide the fact they were worried. Sylvain wished that they would be more concerned for themselves.

"I would have been fine. Honest. It's not like I would drop dead in a place like this."

That was all he could say to his friends. Ingrid's expression fell not really pleased with the words he used to get her to stop scolding him. Felix in contrast turned his back on the knight.

"We wouldn't have to back you up if you trained more," Felix snapped. "Come on. We're keeping the captain waiting."

Sylvain's eyes widened as he suddenly stood up straight. "F-Felix, do we really have to go now?"

"Yes, we wasted time here."

"B-But…"

"It will be your fault when he decides to yell at you for going off on your own. Maybe that should get you to listen."

Ingrid hummed at Felix's complaining. Normally, she was the one trying to hammer this information into her friend's brain. Alas, Sylvain only seemed to listen to Felix.

"...The Captain is going to kick my ass…" Sylvain whined. "You really going to watch your old childhood friend die before you?"

Felix didn't bother answering. Ingrid already abandoned Sylvain to catch up with the younger male. Sylvain groaned as he forced his legs to move. He needed to think of a good excuse on why he left the formation.

* * *

It wouldn't take long for the trio to leave the area and regroup with the others. If anyone was going to get yelled at though, it would be Sylvain. As the oldest of the three, he held the most responsibilities. This mainly had to do with his social standing in the kingdom. If he failed to meet expectations, he would be lectured. Sylvain was ready to be lectured.

"Gautier! What is the meaning of this?!"

Sylvain was definitely ready to be lectured...only to tune his commander out.

"Everything is under control captain. The bandits following us have been dealt with."

Sylvain wasn't all fun and games. He did notice that there were suspicious people following the group after leaving the Kingdom's capital. They didn't reveal themselves to them for obvious reasons. Sylvain was certain he wasn't the only one who noticed, but he would be the first one to deal with it before they got to their destination. Chasing after a beautiful nymph was a realistic story but in reality, he did want to get rid of the crooks. Ingrid and Felix followed after him thinking otherwise.

No one believed that Sylvain was a competent person. That was the knight's intent though. He needed everyone to think he was incapable of using his brain. That way, he can get the upper-hand on his enemies and avoid being given extra responsibilities. Only a few selected people knew how capable Sylvain really was, but they weren't going to out him unless it was absolutely necessary.

"Oh, I highly doubt that!" the general hissed. He looked ready to sock Sylvain in the head. Sylvain visibly flinched seeing his fist being raised but the general stopped himself from doing so. "If not for Galatea, you would have lost your arms! And what's worse is that you put Saint Fradarius in danger! Imagine what would have happened if he was injured before we arrived at Garreg Mach?!"

"I highly doubt that Felix would lose to a bunch of amateurs…"

"Even if Felix was unbeatable, that doesn't give you the right to slack off on your duties as a knight of the Gautier family!"

The knight hated to be reminded of his duties. Sylvain Jose Gautier was the only heir to the Gautier family. Born with a crest meant to serve and protect the kingdom, Sylvain is destined for greatness. Alas, his crest has only caused him misery and misfortune. Envy and lust are two of the seven deadly sins that crawled after him every move taking the form of human beings...all because of his crest. The crest prevented Sylvain from having a normal life by noble standards.

The Gautier family had many duties to fulfill. They serve the king, fight for the kingdom, and protect the kingdom's messiah with their life. Sylvain didn't have a problem with any of these duties and that was because the current heir to the kingdom was one of his childhood friends. The same applied to the kingdom's messiah. He would give his life for all of his childhood friends if given the choice.

But his friends are all capable fighters. Being able to protect themselves made it easier for him. Hell, the fact they were the best at what they did only made this bodyguard stuff easier.

Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd is the future King of Faerghus and the strongest person that he knew. His minor crest gave him super strength. No one would dare challenge him in a one on one fight. Even if he were surrounded by hundreds of soldiers, Dimitri would come out on top.

Felix Hugo Fradarius is the kingdom's messiah. A title Felix hates being referred to. The only reason he has that title is because of being born with a major crest. As of late, it has become difficult for Fodlan to bare children with major crests. Major crests were needed to increase the power of the seal in the center of Fodlan - Garreg Mach Monastery. The details are very vague on what needs to transpired. However, the Archbishop and Father in the area would provide all the information needed.

But judging Felix by his major crest would be a major mistake. The messiah is assumed to be a powerful figurehead that needed escorts in order to travel from one place to another. Felix required no such thing. He is one of the best swordsmen in the entire kingdom. When Felix dedicated himself to the sword as a child, he stuck with it. His father wanted Felix to learn more about his role as a messiah but time and time again, Felix rejected his role in favor of the sword. Because of his stubborn attitude, Felix's father decided that if he refused to be protected by a battalion of guards that he would at least have his two childhood friends to protect him (to which he had grudgingly accepted).

Felix's two sworn bodyguards are Sylvain Jose Gautier and Ingrid Brandi Galatea. Both excelled at their task of protecting their young friend. The two were opposites in everything from their personality to their fighting style. Sylvain was the oldest of the trio so he was expected to be serious. Instead, the Gautier knight was laid-back in everything he did despite his keen intellect. In contrast, Ingrid was hard-working and devoted to her duties as a knight. Dimitri made sure that they were not only appointed as the top knights in the Faerghus but were the ones to watch over Felix.

The two knights were given their family's relic weapon in order to protect the messiah. There was a catch. The weapon passed down from the family will only work when blessed by the Goddess that is said to appear in front of the messiah during the sealing ritual. As a result, the weapons appeared to be just your average weapon. Sylvain was given the Lance of Ruin while Ingrid was given the Luin lance. Once these weapons powered up, the two knights would be an unstoppable duo. Ingrid would take the skies with her pegasus and slaughter her foes while Sylvain would vanquish the enemies on land while on a horse.

They were the perfect pair because they could cover so much ground that Felix could not hope to cover. Even without the extra movement, the two were capable fighters on foot. As long as they kept an eye on each other and Felix, no one could defeat them. Attacking the trio was considered a death wish. One can only hope to defeat them if their flaws were exploited.

Sylvain hated being reminded of his flirting habits that prevented him from getting decent training in. He drove his friends insane when he was spotted in a town flirting with the local village girls. More girls meant less training. Less training meant that he had a higher chance of getting taken advantage of in combat. Sylvain often argued that Ingrid picked up the slack during these times, but he didn't want to be told how Ingrid isn't always going to have his back in battle. Regardless, he was capable of handling himself. He has survived this long in life for a reason.

"Are you listening Gautier?!"

"Yes, I swear on my future child's grave that I will never be distracted by a beautiful forest nymph again."

Sylvain was asking to be punished. In fact, he wasn't all that surprised when he received a smack to the head for responding with snark to his superior.

"Oww! Why did you hit me so hard captain?"

"That's Captain August to you!"

August was one of the most hard headed men that Sylvain knew...and that's a compliment given that Sylvain believed that his father had the biggest stick up his ass.

"R-Right...Captain August…" Sylvain groaned. "I'm telling you that everything is fine. I've been trained all my life for this."

"Really? You sure don't do a good job showing it. Why can't you be more like Galatea? She's dedicated to her job and a fine example of a proper knight."

Sylvain rolled his eyes. "Well, we all can't be Ingrid now can we?"

"Start acting like her. If you don't, you're going to die a horrible death one day."

The redhead could care less about how he died. As long as he died protecting the people he cared for, he didn't care how he left this world. If the Goddess was as merciful as the church claimed to be, she would make things easier in the afterlife. Until that day came, he would keep swinging a weapon protecting those he considered family.

"I'll remember that," Sylvain told him, "Am I dismissed? I have to check up on my two serious friends."

If Sylvain wasn't an important person in the kingdom, August wouldn't let him get away with this dismissive attitude. Alas, there wasn't much he could do besides lecture him on what he already knew. The captain glared at him before dismissing the younger male.

"Finally…" Sylvain grumbled to himself.

He could finally return to Ingrid and Felix without having the captain breathe on his neck. Alas, the chances of getting time alone with them until later was slim. Ingrid set an example for many of the younger tropes and when she wasn't babysitting her friend on his bad behavior, she was talking to them. In contrast, Felix always got pulled away to be reminded of his political standing. The messiah always complained about having to do anything involving reading outdated scripts but he always did it in the end because he knew it was important. Sylvain had offered to help the young swordsman but he declined the offer. The offer was still on the table. If things got tough, Felix would come to him. Otherwise, he would go to Ingrid.

Either way, Sylvain needed a break. The group had to stop because of him so he needed to take the few minutes he had to himself to relax. The pilgrimage was still not going to be easy even if the threat was dealt with.

The knight yawned and stretched his arms toward the sky. He looked up toward the clouds and frowned. The clouds were parted in an odd way that it was far from normal.

"Man...why do I always have the feeling that I'm being watched?" Sylvain asked to no one in particular. "Maybe I'm just on edge…"

A fifteen minute nap was all he was going to need to get his senses working again. Hopefully, the small paranoia in his chest would drift away.

* * *

Despite the fact the bandits were eliminated, there were still enemies out there. The small group dispatched was only a test for the messiah and his knights. The real danger observed the party from a far off place. A dark mage projected an image of their targets to the ones that issued the ambush.

"For a Messiah, he sure is violent," one of the men spoke. Of the hidden group of enemies, only two of them stood out. The one speaking was a youthful man with dark skin and cold grey eyes. He was covered in a white abaya and a turban over his raven colored hair.

"The brat is compensating for many things," the other man answered in a grouchy tone. He was the only person in the group that wasn't wearing an identical outfit to the rest of the minion. His face was fully visible in comparison the other man and that face had a big nasty scar on him. Combined with hair the color of crimson, he gave off a menacing aura.

"It would be boring if the Messiah was meek and submissive," the dark skinned man hummed. "However, this makes it hard to get near him."

The redhead grunted as a response. His attention wasn't toward Felix. His brown eyes were directed toward Sylvain instead. He gritted his teeth seeing the young knight wearing a dopey grin on his face.

"We won't have that many chances to pull this plan off," the raven haired man continued, "Soon, they will reach Garreg Mach and get the Hero Relics. They will be super powerful by then."

"Tch, don't you think I know that Alibaba?!"

The man known as Alibaba shook his head in fake annoyance. "Come now Mickey. There's no need for you to be snappy. There are many ways to deal with inexperienced children that doesn't require a full on confrontation."

"I have a name…"

The redhead was ignored in favor of his giddy comrade.

"Mickey, I know you're the leader of your band of thieves but I know how bad it would be if you got them all killed because of a little...grudge."

The bandit leader glared at his companion. He was ready to throw a punch to the annoyance of some of the other thieves. "Look here. I only accepted this job because I heard I can ruin my little brother! Otherwise, I wouldn't risk my neck for you!"

"But, we're old friends. You wouldn't leave me to take this dangerous mission on my own," Alibaba hummed. "If I may recall, you were adamant that you come along for this job because you were worried for me."

Knowing that the dark skinned criminal was going to tease him while their prey continued to their destination, the one nicknamed "Mickey" kept his mouth shut.

"Regardless, I do have a plan that will work. All it requires is your patience and cooperation. If it works, you are free to do whatever you wish with your brother." Alibaba smiles as his attention is now toward the handsome knight that held his head high. "Alas, I'm not allowed to do anything to the Messiah, so I will make sure that you will have your fun."

The bandit leader huffed as a response. Despite his sour mood, he trusted Alibaba to do his job. It was a group effort. Alibaba got the job and the plans needed to complete it, he and his gang of thieves were to carry it out. Alibaba hasn't failed him before. This time, it will all be worth it.

_Little brother, I cannot wait to see you again. I will make sure you won't be able to forget our happy family reunion._

**Author's Note:**

> TBC with 3949 words. Notes!
> 
> 1\. There is some inspiration from some hentai RPG games (LilliTales). Most of them always start with a high octane battle. Whether you win the fight or not results in a hentai scene. However, I decided to start almost near the beginning.
> 
> 2\. In this universe, there is no academy so none of the characters leave their territory unless absolutely necessary. Byleth and Beth aren't going to be mentioned yet. This also means that Mercedes is in the Empire so no hopes for a healer in the group.
> 
> 3\. In this universe, Ingrid's dream has mostly come true already being appointed as head knight without having to think about marriage. The duty of knighthood protecting the messiah is just more important than crest babies. This means that Sylvain isn't tied down until further notice but he can't stop his flirting addiction. Of course, protecting Felix is not going to be a walk in the park (as they will find out next chapter).
> 
> In later chapters I'll be listing scenarios and the decision. Maybe I'll have a poll up (if I can figure out how to link it) on what a vague decision could be. If it is based on a hentai game, some bad things can still happen. For the next chapter, I have already decided on the events.


End file.
